The Emperor's Return version 2
by R-Alex-J
Summary: Originally published by dandiestcar6, I am finishing our collaborative project. In an alternate timeline, the Emperor reaches out to two mortals in a bid to return to reality. As the 13th Black Crusade approaches, what will happen when the Emperor returns?
1. Chapter 1

**As explained at the top, this story up to Chapter 4 was originally written by dandiestcar6 in collaboration with me, R-Alex-J. This is now deleted so I can complete the story, but he left this note:**

_**this is a new story i have co-authored with R-Alex-J, go check his story out, it is great**_

**Dandiestcar6 is no longer able to edit this, due to the time commitments (unable to keep a consistent schedule), a growing dislike of this site for some reason, and that making some friends in the outside world has filled a 'void' that FF previously filled. He says that I, originally just the proofreader and adviser, could finish this story off, apparently because he thinks he can't finish it in a good way. Here goes...**

The Emperor of Mankind stood above his son, Horus Lupercal, and his other son, Sanguinius, lying on the floor. He could feel his blood dripping down his face, his bones slowly mending themselves back together, but it was not enough, he could feel himself slipping, slowly, but surely, into a coma.

With that he felt sad, sad that he could not protect his children for the time he was out. He could feel it would be long

Little did he know just how long it would be- 10,000 years- but just because he was in a coma did not mean that he was not aware. He slipped in and out of his coma, the first time seeing a tide of green assaulting his home. To the Emperor's horror, the xenos known as the Eldar were right in his Throne Room. To think that against the fungi known as the Orks, his Custodes joined forces with the alien. He was also horrified at how his High Lords were so incompetent that they denied the seriousness the army assaulting the very system they were in.

Then he woke again and this time it horrified him even more, Vulkan, his son and one of the kindest of his Primarchs, dead. But what he saw next horrified him even more: the Ecclesiarchy. An abomination of his Imperial Creed; what came next sickened him to his very core was Goge Vandire (a name that just screamed evil), and how much more warped his Imperium had become, with almost all his sons either dead or missing, technological advancement having stopped, and that with every step forward the Mechanicus took, it took one large step back.

Then the dark came again, he didn't want it to come, he tried to stay awake, to protect the species he loved, but it was too strong and so he fell back into it. He awoke again, dreading what he would see, but nothing could prepare him for what he saw. Wars being fought on countless fronts, men being deployed by the millions and dying by the thousands to win a single skirmish, and planets being destroyed because they had one or two people who held different views. Greenskin hordes gathering

As far as the Emperor could tell he had one option, to go out into an incorporeal form, and seek out two souls to bind himself to, he did not know why he was doing that, he could save the energy he had to save it for when he needed it, but he did not know why, perhaps to see for himself what his imperium had become.

Tzeentch could feel all his scheme being formed and changed in a way no mortal could understand, but as he did one of his favorite ones, the one linked to the Anathema, all changed irreversibly, he did not know why, if this was good or bad, but as Tzeentch sat in the endless abyss of the warp he smiled, or what could pass for one, for one like him he loved when unexpected changes came, so he set himself out to creating new schemes and plans to counter this, but little did Tzeentch know how changed the strings of fate were…


	2. Chapter 2

Leorus was your normal kid, well at least as normal as one with no family could be. He lived in the local church of his valley with his best friend Eklan. Oh yes, and he had a friend who most of the grown-ups called "imaginary" and "not real", but Leorus and Eklan knew differently. He was real. Leorus could not remember when the black-haired man was not with him, neither could Eklan. Sometimes he was a man, sometime he was something else, not quite human, but not totally anything else.

But that was a while ago. When Eklan had left one or two years ago, some people called the local priest, who had served the village for countless seasons. They wanted to know where Eklan was going, and what impact her belief in an imaginary friend would have.

"Do not fret," the bald man told his flock. "The Throne has called her, a war orphan, to a higher purpose. She will meet the Drill Abbots, who are His servants in the stars."

The priest said no more, and the villagers returned to their farms and homes. The only one who knew the truth was Leorus, thanks to his friend. "Don't sit there," the odd being said as the boy tried to sit on the couch of his hovel. "That's my spot. Eklan is going to become a supersoldier, one better than everyone on this world, except those who join the ranks of my sons. It's shameful that her new friends will be under the universal delusion."

"Will we see each other again?"

"Yes."

Soon, it was time to move on. The star warriors of the Departmento Munitorum were once again recruiting for the Guard. Unlike the bigger world, the one with better technology and apartment blocks reaching the skies, Avrolanc IIIa contributed less in soldiers and more in animals. The huge, leathery-winged reptiles known as the 2-Legs were the most common, but so were the Cold One giant lizards and the huge Night Dragons. Nonetheless, a few of the peasants and townspeople could join the ranks of the Imperial Guard, serving as grooms for the beasts and as assistant to the nobility.

* * *

"COME ON, RECRUIT, DO YOU WANT THOSE XENO SCUM TO BEAT US?", shouted the sergeant.

I scrambled up the hill trying to not get shot by the eldar, as I heard them being called, my legs felt like hell came and burnt them to a crisp, but I kept running. Because if I did not then I would be shot by them, I could feel all the explosions around me. I jumped to the ground trying to make myself a smaller target, bringing my lasgun to bear I shot wildly into the approaching xenos, trying to hit them, but every shot seemed to miss, and every one that hit seemed to just bounce off their armour, I could feel Tiglath shouting encouragement to him, but it was drowned out by screaming of men around him and the fire of lasguns and whatever the enemy fired.

Then a large blast went off and he flew away, as one of the half naked ones came up to him slowly, the way she moved would normally make him very uncertain and freeze up, but now he only had adrenaline coursing through him, then the xeno talked. "Well, well well, what do we have here", she said as she cracked her whip near to me, "a nice little Mon'keigh all for me, how lovely".

I could only look on in defiance as I tried to move towards my rifle, but I was too wounded to move. "Explosion must of messed me up more than I thought", I thought in my head, wincing from the pain, then a sudden moment of clarity came, like everything just faded away except for me and the eldar in front of me, then I had a plan, though it would hurt like the seven hells.

As she approached me she bent down and looked at my eyes, and only seeing defiance she raised her whip.

"NOW", I heard Tiglath shout, though it felt like miles away.

I dodged the whip then pushed my foot out making the eldar fall, while she was falling she lost grip of her whip, so I jumped up and grabbed her whip, then when gravity started to take effect I pulled the whip around the eldar's throat and pulled as hard as he could, I could feel his hand start to burn but ignored it. The eldar started to scramble shouting out what sounded like curses and begging but i paid it no heed, and just strengthened how hard I pulled.

After a few more seconds, I could feel the eldar stop scrambling, so I let go of the rope. Then it hit me, the tiredness, and the weariness falling on me, and with that I fell down and slept for what felt like the first time in a hundred years.

* * *

As I slowly came to, I could feel the soft bedsheets on the bed I was sleeping on, trying to pull my eyes open, which felt like lead, I looked around and noticed I was in the medical tent, for a moment I wondered why I was here, until I remembered the past 24 hours. And at that point I laughed, laughed at the absurdity that I was able to kill one of the bastards who killed so many of my friends, then I put my head back onto the pillow. I had only been here once or twice, and even then only for broken noses from fights, so i laid my head back down and closed my eyes allowing sleep to overtake me once more.

I awoke once more and felt even more refreshed, feeling like a million shillings. I smiled as I got up and looked around, the only person that was there was a man who looked like he was straight out of one of the recruiting posters, perfectly shaven face, and head, with a uniform which was perfectly worn, like he was born to be in the Guard. On his blue suit was 2 blue stripes and a large grey one in the middle- the insignia of a Flight Lieutenant.

"Good to see you're still alive chap", he said with a warm smile. He held his arm out and I put mine out.

Shaking my hand, he sat back down. "So, chap, we saw what you did out there, pretty impressive if I so say so myself."

"Thank you, sir", I said as I tried to sit up, grunting from the pain. I continued going up till I could look the man in the face. "Respectfully sir, who are you?" I asked with an inquisitive look.

"Well, lad, we saw what you did and I want to give you an offer".

"What sort of offer?" I asked,

"Taking into account your skills in HR and what just happened, you are now a LAC."

"LAC?" I asked.

"Leading Airman..""Ah don't worry, you've had a bit of a wizard prang. You've also proved ace and so we may

"Oh yes, I forgot about the ranks for a moment."

send you behind enemy lines, killing the enemy's commanders, and being a mild inconvenience."

"But what was that offer?" I asked, perplexed at why would someone who seemed so important would come to me.

"Well, lad, we saw what you did and decided that we needed you to up your game and get outside the office. Being able to defeat a eldar by yourself is no mean feat. Whizzo, you were able to survive the whip's poison so that gives you another point in my books".

I looked down to my hand to see it was scarred terribly, not enough to kill me or warrant a new hand but certainly enough to scar it horribly. It shocked me that I did not realise my hand was like that sooner.

"So, chap, do you want to join? The pays' the same but you do the Emperor's work."

I looked back up to the man, and said the words that would seal my fate for the rest of my life.

"Yes"


	3. Chapter 3

I was a normal child, as normal as a future Sister of Battle could be. Adopted by the Ministorum at the age of 12 following the martyrdom of my parents, me and my siblings had passed through the dreaded Schola Progenium, and now I was a member of the blessed Order of the Sacred Grove. My job: To defend farmers, holiday resort workers, and ecologically sensitive worlds. My new home is a shrine, dedicated not to a saint but all martyrs. As they say:

**"For every battle honour, a thousand heroes die unsung and unremembered."**

**"But the universe is a big place and, whatever happens, you will not be missed."**

We may not know their names and we may not miss the individuals, but we remember them.

* * *

I had come back from my first mission. Here's the details:

We were sent to a new colony world, New Eden(technically New New New Eden but details), to defend it from dark eldar. Apparently they saw it as a prime spot to grab some new playthings.

The Cannoness decided that it would be a good test for us newly declared Battle Sisters. Since they were attacking a garden world near to Gacontay, our convent, we were sent to action.

So we deployed onto the planet hoping to catch the little bastards with their pants down, so to say. It wasn't long before we were crawling through the jungle, our cloaks tied back and our replica Catachan fangs ready to slice. I had the heavy bolter while the Catachan-born Sisters waited with flamers and meltas. Would the xenos fall for our trap?

And so we waited, trying to pass the time, the Catachan Sisters had a way of communicating with noises that seemed to fit into the forest. I had not taken the course for that language yet, so I was just left laying there, having been recently put into. Though talking with Tiglath was entertaining, we could only talk for a while before we ran out of things to speak about.

Although we had confirmation that the eldar pirates were coming through this place (due to a certain species of plant only found here, it completely messed up all systems of travel; lucky break for us I guess), I was starting to feel like the Emperor would get off his sacred Throne before they came.

So anyway we were waiting, and we had created a killzone, about 10 feet wide and 15 wide, with heavy bolters, melta guns, and bolters aimed in that area. Then we heard it, a loud rumble, quite similar to our own tanks but more "refined", like the difference between a high quality vox and a low quality vox, then came them, a large mass of eldar craft and vehicles, though it seemed only the ones who had any status got to ride on the crafts, the rest were forced to walk, and as the walked by some were moaning in pain, since a good portion were barefoot.

Then I heard a rustle to my left. The Catachan Sisters had stopped "talking" and started to take aim, and then all hell broke loose. We started to fire, and many of the eldar fell, but within a few seconds they raised their shields and started to fire in all directions, shredding the trees, and anything that moved. They even hit one or two Sisters, but it was more glazing shots, and we continued to fire but the eldar pirates started to get a nail on our position, even though we had taken out almost half of them.

The vehicles were a tougher nut to crack; say what you want about eldar tech it can take a beating. So we kept on firing, heavy bolters and meltas did far more damage so the rest of my Sisters took to taking out the foot soldiers. Then out came something terrifying: Multiple Ravagers came from behind us and started to fire. Many Sisters fell and we were forced to retreat, but a squad of our Sisters were huddled behind a broken eldar ship covering our retreat, so I ran to help them.

Somehow dodging all the fire I was able to get behind cover with the squad of Sisters, looking to my left i shouted over the fire. "HOW MUCH AMMUNITION DO YOU HAVE LEFT SISTER?"

"ABOUT 3 CLIPS LEFT SISTER"

"2 SISTER."

"DOWN TO MY LAST ONE."

"2 CLIPS".

With that I grimaced. This was bad, very bad; if we did not get out of here we were dead. For the first time in the past few minutes, Tiglath talked to me. It was a crazy idea, stupid, suicidal, but it just might work.

As the firing of the eldar started to die down I walked out with my hands raised no weapon, and only my armour and a knife on my belt. "I challenge you to a fight for superiority. If I win then me and my Sisters leave alive and unharmed. If you win, you get to do whatever the warp you want to do with us."

The pirates looked confused, glancing to each other. A man on a throne atop one of his vessels came and spoke. "Well, well, monkeigh, I guess today has been very boring for me and my cohortes, but I agree to your terms, but I highly doubt you will last a second against our champion." His voice was deep and gravely, but also sharp and painful to listen too, like the daemons the elder Sisters described.

Then he spoke again. "BRASTRA", he shouted while looking towards a female eldar. "Take care of this Mon'keigh filth."

"Certainly, Dread Archon", said the female eldar.

As she walked towards me, I was disgusted and surprised of how she was dressed, more of undergarments than anything, walking in a way that would make an lesser male (or for that case woman) stare for a second, but not me. I simply raised my Fang in a position that the Order inherited from the Catachans and stared at her, discerning her weakness.

Little to no armour. Whip is most likely cover with poison. My armour should be able to take one or two shots before being compromised. An eldar's natural agility may beat me, but I did not need to beat her, just survive for a bit. And so my enemy got impatient and let out an inhuman screech and charged at me, cracking her whip as she ran and tried to whip my leg.

Jumping to the side to avoid it I pulled my knife up and fell back into my standard position. She attacked again as she ran towards me. She threw herself as towards me, trying to get me off balance.

But I sidestepped again. This time my opponent was prepared and turned her whip around and scraped my armour. As she was doing that, I lifted my own weapon and thrust it down into her shoulder, causing what seemed like a massive amount of pain and pleasure. I pulled my knife out and looked behind me, seeing my Sisters trying to call for help, I could hear them talking if i strained by ears, sadly it seemed they had little luck

Grimacing I looked towards the eldar warrior, who was starting to compose themselves and getting up.

Moving back and trying to keep my distance I saw that she was about to charge again, and I dodged the same as last time, but then she pulled her whip up and pulled it around my leg, and it hurt like hell. Imagine the most intense pain you had ever felt, then crank it up to 100 and you get a second of what I felt, the armour at my legs wasn't all that thick. I screamed out in pain, then it stopped and for a moment I thought I was safe, but when i opened my eyes i saw her about to strangle me with the whip.

Out of reflex I put my hands out and tried to fight back, and in the background I thought I could hear Tiglath counting down. All I could think about was the intense pain coming from my body trying to keep going with the poison in my system, then I felt it. The rumbling on the ground, similar to the eldar's but far more brutal, pushing my opponent off me I stood up, through pure force of will, and looked behind me, and saw a sight that put an enormous smile on my face. A large number of our mechanized force was coming, alongside one or two of the PDF's Leman Russes along with a complement of forces burst out from along the road. Turning around, I could see the xenos shock, knowing they were outgunned started to run. The Sisters behind me started to fire their guns trying to take them out, and I just ran to cover trying to not get hit.

Dirt and rocks started to fly as the Leman Russes started to fire onto they enemy, most of the shots missing and flinging dirt into the air, but a few hit, one or two were able to score hits on the eldar ships and damage them, and one blew up a group of running eldar. Though with a frown I could see the eldar I was fighting was running away and was far ahead, so i bent down, pulled up my heavy bolter I dropped earlier and started to fire at her, frowning due to the fact she was able to dodge every bolt I shot at her until she was out of range, along with the rest of her disgusting gang.

* * *

Turning around to check on the Sisters I had fought to protect, seeing that they had no injuries I looked up to the vehicles that had come and shouted "good to see you."

I saw a sister superior walk towards me and the other Sisters. "Good job, Sisters for staying alive for so long. You were lucky we picked up your vox signal"

"Thank you, ma'am"

"But I need to debrief you on what is going on now, so you will come back with us to the HQ and will report to the chapel. Sister Eklan, go to the apothecary first, then come."

"Yes ma'am."

"And that is what happened ma'am", I said as I finished speaking, telling my side of the story.

"And you claim that you fought an eldar pleasure fighter by yourself, with a knife", said the Sister Superior with a doubtful look.

"Yes ma'am", I said

"Well your testimony along with the 3 other sisters are enough to convince me, but i am afraid that we have to attack the main xeno base, and we require all battle able sisters to participate, and the Hospitaller has told me that you are combat ready, so go and gear up"

Smiling at the chance to kill some more xenos I saluted and smiled, "Yes ma'am".


	4. Chapter 4

Eklan sighed, it was sooooo boring going from battlefield to battlefield, although she did have Tiglath to talk with, along with the rest of her Sisters but you could only talk with them for a certain amount of time, till you started to get bored to death. of course there was Tiglath's stories and lessons, but those were boring as warp.

Although card games were fun till Sister Elizabeth found them, lets just say she is too good at that game.

But anyway, whenever they were needed they went, and that was all she needed. But the one good thing was seeing her old childhood friend. Leorus, or Leo, was with the ship her Order had "borrowed", and let's just say she was a little too happy….

Now I was having a normal day, get up, run laps around the ship's halls, try not to bump into anyone, eat breakfast, shooting practice, and have lunch, but today it was slightly different. While I was eating the standard blocks of nutrition, and spending good amount of the time, I would speak with my section, while sometimes they would be doing other things, so myself and Tiglath would be the only ones to talk. Suddenly, Tiglath told me something.

"Look behind you."

"Why?" I asked, confused. Sure in a combat zone I would trust his judgement more than anyone else, but now I was just confused.

"Just trust me."

Sighing to myself, I looked behind me and saw some of the Sororitas who 'acquired' our ship and all the Guardsmen on it to help them, looking through them I saw someone who sparked a bit of familiarity. A Sororitas wearing the standard issue armour and haircut, slightly blue skin, and brown bob cut, then it hit me. It was Eklan, my old friend. Smiling to myself and getting up I was suddenly hit by a thought. "Did she remember me anymore?" I asked myself.

"What if she did not," I thought to myself, my mind filling with worry.

"Of course she would remember you," said Tiglath reassuringly, as reassuring as a floating ghost can be.

Shaking my head I tried to talk to myself. "Come on, you're the scourge of the eldar pirates, she will remember you."

I trailed off muttering some prayers to the Emperor in between and picking myself up to go talk to her.

Talking with my Sisters was almost always fun, but with little to talk about except for things that had been talked to death, I was relegated to looking around trying to see if I knew anyone. After all, the accompanying regiment (or Group) was from my homeworld of Avrolanc Illa, and that just reminded me of my childhood friend, Leorus. Throne, the adventures I had, running through the trees, the long grass. I sighed, remembering all the nice times I had with him.

Then Tiglath spoke. "Look up, you'll be surprised."

* * *

Walking up to her was terrifying for me; she seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Walking up to her and attempting to pat her on the arm, she suddenly looked up with a confused face, then a face full of disbelief and happiness.

"Leorus," she asked quietly.

"Yup."

She then stood up and hugged me so hard I thought I could hear a bone or two break.

I could almost hear Tiglath laughing. Wiggling to try and get out of the death grip, I started to see black dots until I felt gravity take hold of me and I fell.

And was promptly knocked out.

I was shocked for a minute, not from a terrifying xeno or monstrous heretic, but both from the fact I'd found my oldest friend and then the fact I hugged him so hard I knocked him out. Ignoring the stares of my fellow sisters, I hurriedly picked him up and ran to the medical room, hoping that I hadn't hurt him to much.

After a few more seconds of running, I got where the Ordo Hospitaller was stationed on the ship. Walking in, I looked around the room, which was largely similar to all the other ones I'd been in- clean white, with a praying area and medical supplies scattered around the area.

"Ah, Sister I was wondering whe-", said Affilia, one of the medical officers that was attached to our Order. With all the injuries I seemed to get after missions, I got to know her very well. She looked towards Leorus, who was still knocked out, and went from surprised to angry, and then to neutral. "Sister, please tell me you did not pulverize this one's bones again?"

I frowned. Sisters of Battle could be approached by some grak shit who thought they could woo us, and the last person who tried that with me ended up with 3 broken pelvis bones and a nonexistent arm bone. Of course I got punished for it, but that did not stop me from being proud of it.

Shaking my head and walking towards one of the beds, I started to speak, "He is a….old friend", I said as I sat him down on one of the clean white beds.

"Oooh," she said, putting on a mischievous smile

"Don't you dare", I said.

Affilia loved to tease me about things, as another of my best friends, but she sometimes got on my nerves with her teasing nature.

I tried to give her the death stare while she gave him a look over.

"He seems to be okay", said Affilia, getting professional for a second, "albeit some bruised ribs and some brain damage. He'll be fine by the end of the week, plenty of time till the next engagement".

Sighing in relief, I pulled up a seat and sat down next to Leorus. I could almost hear Affilia cooing in her mind.

"So," she said teasingly, "how did you meet this fine looking guardsman".

Now, I have known Affilia for a good few years, and been under her care more times than I could count, so I knew her personality just as well as she did mine. I knew that the teasing would increase till I either broke out the heavy flamer or talked, and I was not too confident on getting punished by the Order for that.

"Fine, but if you say anything to the other Sisters, I will give you a hole where your neck is", I said, attempting to be threatening, but she knew 2 things: (1) I would probably not do it, and (2) there was a chance she would, so I knew to shut my mouth.

"Well it started a few years before I was recruited by the Schola and I was playing around the church where I lived..." I said starting the story.

* * *

**15 years ago...**

Eklan put the cat down and rested in the shade, sighing. The furry ball wandered away into the daylight. Nearby, Leorus is walking up the hill after his day shadowing the Guard trainees.

"Blessed day," the girl said to her friend. "What happened?"

"While you've been sowing the seeds," replied the future Guardsman, "I followed a the instructors at the Guard depot. It was magnificent."

Eklan jumped up and brushed down her bliaut dress. She always wanted to hear of the place with the light bulbs and electrical irons, so nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes..."

"Sergeant Zulhallan decided it was time to get up close to the recruits, so he took his two corporals and marched in perfect time with them. I didn't see what happened with Corporal Laran's section, but Corporal Mogark's was… was..."

"Yes?"

"Zulhallan caught them while they were still sweeping. When he went in, one of them was still walking about, putting stuff on top of his locker. The Sergeant screamed at him to stand still, shouted 'HOW DARE YOU MOVE WHEN I TELL YOU TO STAND STILL' and then Mogark went right in that recruit's face. She told him that if told to stand still, he stands still immediately."

Eklan sat back down again. "Keep going, keep going."

"It got worse. The Sergeant found that one recruit had left her stuff all over her bed instead of in the right arrangement. Another fool had taken his boots off despite knowing an inspection was coming and yet another left some string tied like a noose on the window."

"Oh dear. Was he planning to hang himself?"

"Zulhallan said as much. Yet another recruit left a mug on the floor and said she didn't know it was down there."

Raising an eyebrow, Eklan asked, "Is he blind?"

"No, the Sergeant said his problem is stupidity. Then there was the toothbrush."

"These are the modern ones, right, not the ones we have?"

"They get all the modern technology in there, with us being a, um, what do they call it, a Feudal World. The toothbrush was covered in dirt and the Sergeant demanded to know who it belonged to. It was a spare, so the Sergeant threw it across the room. Another had dirty boots, so Zulhallan tipped his bed over, and the one who was still moving at the start had drawn something useless. The same knave had a rusty pull cord for the blinds and..."

"What's a pull cord?"

"Something to do with windows? The knave had a lot of problems, which caused Mogark to call him weak and pathetic. Zulhallan said they were the worst thing in 4 years of training and a shambles of shite. Mogark threw everyone into their lockers."

"And this is what you plan to do?" Eklan asked. Was being yelled at and abused the destiny of her friend? What was her destiny going to be?

_WHAM!_

"Huh?" both Leorus and Eklan asked. "Huh?"

Both Leorus and Eklan both falling to the ground. Getting up and looking around, both were on high alert; they both saw a-a... the closest description would be a man, lying down the hill. Both Eklan and Leorus started to walk, slowly, towards the man.

Suddenly the man looked up and gave them a glimpse of what he looked like, and Eklan could only think the most extraordinary thing about the man was how unextraordinary he looked.

Sure he was relatively strong looking but if there was a standard template for humans that's what he would look like.

The man seemed to look around in shock, his eyes squinting and his hands were going over his body as if he was not sure if it was real or not. Looking up to the sky, a tear seemed to come out of his eyes. But he hurriedly wiped it away once he saw Eklan and Leorus. Standing up quickly, he attempted to straighten out his clothes.

"Which planet am I on?" the man seemed to say, trying to sound high and mighty, though with the way he looked did not pull it off.

Eklan and Leorus giggled at the man's insistence to be taken seriously, but between the giggles eklan was able to say "Avrolanc IIIa."

The man seemed to be confused for a moment, until a dawn of understanding went over his face along with a smile that could only be described as one a grandfather would have.

While Eklan and Leorus had been able to stop giggling they were still quite curious as to who this man was. "Who are you?" asked Leorus.

"Why, my name is not important", said the man in a almost comical fashion.

"But you need a name", said Lerous while trying to hold in a giggle.

"How about Tiglath", said Eklan, who was not able to hold in her giggles.

The man raised an eyebrow at the name. "That could work", said the man mumbling to himself.

**So concludes the original 4 chapters co-authored with dandiestcar6. The next 2 chapters had his involvement, but I wrote more than he did. Chapter 5 should have gone up in December as I advised, but of course this didn't happen. After the first 500 words of chapter 6, everything from then on is solely my own work,**


	5. Chapter 5

Leorus knew something was off, not something terrible, like the dark powers of Chaos but something better, akin to a warm feeling. Trying to lift himself up proved to be futile, especially when his body wanted to stay in the...comfy...bed….

"Oh," he thought, "I'm in the infirmary." He was rather pleased he got to spend more time in a proper bed (the ones in the barracks did not count), but then that took him into his next problem.

"How the frack did I get here?" He thought and thought and thought, until he remembered Eklan, and the rest. How he went to her, and tried to make conversation, and how her hug had not changed since they were kids. It certainly made him laugh, or at least chuckle. Trying to open his eyes was much harder than you would think, but when this was the first real bed you had slept in for months, it was certainly hard, along with the brightness of the medical bay.

But you don't get into the Guard and live for more than 40 minutes if you don't have some willpower, and so, with great reluctance, he opened his eyes. Taking a minute to get used to the light and looking around, he immediately noticed two things.

One, he was in the Ordo Hospitaliers section, which he shouldn't have been

Secondly, there was a weight next to his body on the bed. Moving his head to get a better view, he saw Eklan knocked out. asleep.

The only thing Leorus could think of was how cute she looked while asleep, and it reminded him again of all the days running around the fields.

"I see," said the familiar figure of Squadron Sergeant Major Mogark. "This Sister you're fixated on has blue skin like me and Pilot Officer Alak."

Leorus looked up at the warrant officer, another Feudal World warrior. There was always something about Mogark, in that she was small and lightweight but could move faster than a Space Marine and strangle Dark Eldar with her bare hands.

Glancing at Eklan, the Senior Airman Technician smiled weakly. "Yes, sir, she's one of ours."

"Oh dear, and now she's ended up with gardening enthusiasts. I order you to be healed and fit for duty in 5 hours. We've arrived."

Leorus looked at his health monitor and sighed. If Mogark ordered him to be fit for duty in 5 hours, he'd have to be.

He had done this a million times before: Go up to armoury, ask for gear, tell code, get it on, and then get to the assembling area. Bugger, he'd even done it when he was far more injured, but for some reason he could not help but have FCJ (first combat jitters). On his 7th combat.

* * *

After the battle, Group Captain Laxan and Canoness Eleien met in the nearby town square. The battered and burnt carapace of the Guard colonel and the pristine power armour of the Sister leader said a lot about how they both fared, considering they were both in the thick of it. Outside the newsagent, Laxan began with, "We lost a few chaps- a lot, but the enemy are gone."

"Same."

"Did the enemy capture any of yours?"

"Only one, from your moon, I think. She has blue skin."

"I've lost someone to the Dark Eldar too, but still, who cares? Let's party! Do you have a date?"

The Canoness smiled. "Yes, with Cardinal Joan, though both me and her are open to more..."

"Done," said the Group Captain. "Done, if I have any energy left."

* * *

Eklan blinked as she awoke, but her nose hit her the hardest. Throne, the place stank of… stank of… Everything. Behind her was a groaning green brute with a swine-like nose and red eyes. The Sister immediately turned away from the alien and took in her surroundings. Blast, that light was bright. It was like she was right next to a sun. She got up and, as expected, chains held her down. "Sod this," she muttered.

Gripping the lock of the chain, Eklan concentrated, bringing her faith to the fore of her mind. "In the name of the Emperor, I break this chain."

"I'd like to see that," Tiglath said.

"I'm sure, friend. Now, in the name of the Emperor, I break this chain."

"Your wish is granted."

The chain snapped.

"The Emperor is with me," Eklan said. "Praise be."

"Please don't do that. Don't praise him, just thank him."

The Sister threw the chain- designed to hold Ork Nobz- over the imprisoned Greenskin and stepped towards her imaginary friend. "Thank, praise, what's the difference."

"Quite a bit, I should know."

"And how would you know?" said Eklan, feeling her temper rising, and the urge to purge increase as well. "How could you know what the God-Emperor wants"?

"Because I am him", said Tiglath, almost shouting. "I am the shepherd of our species, your "god", the saviour of humanity."

"You are not the Emperor."

"Are you sure? I have the power!"

"You're not the Emperor! You're not handsome enough!"

Tiglath just seemed to stop moving, and seemed to try to imitate a slow cogitator. "That logic is fascinating. Attractiveness is not an absolute. I am the one on the Golden Throne and I don't appreciate worship."

Eklan had to sit down, and so rested herself on the Ork's legs. "Why not?"

"The only difference between me and you is that I'm a psyker… and that I'm rather big. I'm a psyker just like a Librarian or Navigator. Do you know what sensible Space Marine chapters consider me?"

"They say you're just a very powerful human, not the God of Humanity."

"They are correct! This cult is just the result of Lorgar's book being considered true, and those read the book couldn't spot what is in front of them, fail to see the obvious, and make up garbage. They saw my teachings and misread them in a way that should've been impossible."

"Oh? Why am I so calm?"

"You always knew this was the case. I've been preparing you for this."

"And how might you have been doing this", said Eklan furiously.

"I have not used any form of hypnotization if that is what you are asking."

"Then how did you do it? If you remember, I am part of the Sisters of Battle; I have been raised to see you as a God. How could you just make me not believe?"

"What do you do during the 2 hour long prayer?" asked Tiglath.

At the same time, Leorus was not confident of his prospects since he was strapped to a bed by the limbs. The bedposts were solid adamantium and so were his chains. He realised his chest was aching and he saw that he'd been stripped and most likely prodded with matches. The lights were bright and the Airman could see the door open. Behind was a big female clad in spiky Warrior armour. She sneered down at him. "Yes-yes-yes, translator working. Welcome back. You were good enough unconscious, though you'd have been better screaming."

"Leorus, Senior Airman Technician, 281285767."

"So? There's only one thing I want from you, pet."

The eldar climbed onto the bed and Leorus shifted away. The xenos growled, sending shivers not just down Leorus' spine but all over his body. "Back off."

"Or what?"

Leorus felt the first fingers grope his legs and almost cried. When the eldar licked his neck, he actually did cry. The eldar didn't hold back and was just about to do her worst when she collapsed. "Phew."

"I have not abandoned you," Tiglath told him. "Get off that bed."

"But the straps..." The straps, designed to hold down Ork Nobz, snapped. "You did this?"

"Of course I did. I'm the Emperor."

"Sure you are and I'm a Space Marine."

The glowing superhuman seemed to sigh in frustration, "Why is it so hard for you to believe I'm him?"

"Cause he's on the Throne and you're here?"

"We'll talk later, now follow me so you can meet up with Eklan", he said while going towards a door that was closed. As he approached it, it suddenly opened. Leorus merely raised an eyebrow towards that, picked up the eldar's whip and followed him.


	6. Chapter 6

Eklan was running through out the halls of the building, desperately hoping to find Leorus before he was killed or worse, but the entire place was like a maze. With every step she seemed to take, the building seemed to expand by a factor of 10. Now it looked like the building was wood, but soon it changed into a glossy plastic. From the smell, which she only experienced on Avrolanc when the feudal overlord invited the village to banquets, she could tell she was near a kitchen. She was about to look inside when she remembered that this was a dark eldar kitchen, although she would describe it more as a torture chamber. "Leorus better not be in there."

She went further, the building turning to diamond. She nipped into an alcove as several xenos warriors strolled past. One of them was carrying an Avrolanc lasgun, which had the magazine behind the trigger, a Sight Unit Small Arms Trilux, and a grip pod. This warrior squeezed the trigger and the lasfire hit the wall and bounced off harmlessly. The wall was fine.

A few more paces and the walls started to look like a twisted mass of fused branches and vines. Eklan recalled her time with the Drill Abbots and their lesson on fortification. There were some foolish people who believed that simply bombing a fortress to death would win the battle (bollocks) and that many fools also believed that most fortresses did not account for special weapons. In general, most fortresses could withstand all kinds of attack thanks to their construction and because even the smallest Arbites precinct took special weapons into account. The Drill Abbots had told the class about an absorbent material, a hard material, and a regenerative material. Well, here they were.

"What about the living ones?" Eklan remembered blurting out.

A huge Abbot, a veteran of the Vostroyan Firstborn, burst all of the young girl's nerves into flame. She then leaned over Eklan and said, "Well done for taking an interest and put your hand up next time. Yes, there are fortresses that are alive and do attack intruders. I would know, the government of Dreadhaven lives in one."

Back in the present, Eklan saw the corridor convulse, tendrils breaking off the floor and reaching up to her. She stared ahead to the door beyond, drew a deep breath, and said, "I will pass through the unrighteous."

She took her first step. A tendril whizzed at her… and recoiled only millimetres away from her flesh. She widened her stride. She was across.

"Well done," Tiglath said. "Be careful as you go through that door."

What was behind the door? Only a pointy shape with swept back wings and plenty of guns. "A xenos craft," Eklan sighed. "I can't use this."

"Yes you can," Tiglath said,

"I can?"

"I planned to hijack the eldar webway."

"Huh, but I'm not leaving without Leorus."

"He'll come to you.""Is he free? Is he?"

"He's free. While we wait, I think I should tell you something that could change the whole layout of the Sororitas and the Astartes."

"Change?"

The ancient human stepped right in front of the Sister, between her and the dark eldar craft. "The universe is changing. I sense the predator swarms even here. I sense the ancient dead coming back once more. I even sense new aliens emerging. Compared to those, my change is minimal. No one will make a fuss."

After Tiglath gave Eklan a brief outline, she shrugged and looked back to the door. "I don't see a problem. I'm too old for it to affect me anyway."

"There you are," said Leorus as he finally arrived at the landing site. To Eklan, there was something off, something not quite symmetrical about him. "Yes, Sister, no left arm."

"Blessed are those who sacrifice themselves," said Eklan. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

When the ship emerged from realspace almost the second it took off, Leorus was the first to get the alien ship's internal sensors up. "What does…? Is this the decimal system?"

"I don't need sensors," said Eklan. "When I get off this abhorrent vessel, I'll shower, I'll have a mud bath, I'll walk on hot coals. No, I know that planet well. It's Cadia."

Yes, the greyish-blue sphere was right there, but so were pointed-hulled machines in their thousands. Similar, spikier warships held position around the solar system.

At the same time, the ship's alien sensors picked up signs on eldar craft wandering around. "Craftworld, good," said Eklan.

"Huh?"

"The craftworld ones, the aliens who live on artificial worlds, aren't dark. They're dishonest, manipulative, and arrogant, but we can trust them to do what's right and help us."

"What about these?"

"Leave them for now. Let's find an Imperial warship that won't shoot us on sight."

"I have it. That grand cruiser there, it's already seen us. I'll try to find the communications button. Uh… Tiglath?"

The Avrolanc airman's arm whizzed around on it's own accord. Landing gently on a rectangular prism, the button allowed the first words to come through… "Xenos warship, we detect human life only. Identify. This is Enterprise. Identify or die."

"I'm Senior Airman Technician Leorus, 14th Group, Avrolanc Blitzkrieg. With me is Celestian Eklan, Order of the Sacred Grove. We've escaped from dark eldar captivity."

"Acknowledged. Stand by. Do not move."

A bluish aura faded in around the two humans. Faint buzzing dominated the atmosphere as a pull caused Eklan and Leorus to start rising up.

"What?"

Suddenly, they were in the comfortable vastness of an Imperial Navy warship. Dark spires and growling grotesques glared down, the friendliest sight the pair had seen for days. This was only reinforced by the two officers who stood amongst the armoured Guardsmen and Navy armsmen. They wore blue. One was Group Captain Laxan. The other was an Avrolanc noblewoman, one of those humans with dark green skin, the humans who never called orks a certain derogatory term. She wore a carapace dress and veils. A red visor glew under her hair. "Air Commodore Lapizi. I'm interested to know how the dark eldar made you forget how to salute, Airman. Salute!"

Without further hesitation, Leorus obeyed. Meanwhile, Eklan stared at the Avrolanc natives. "I know you, Air Commodore. You're the one someone accused of occult crimes just so he could get out of an arranged marriage to you!"

"Don't remind her!" Laxan yelled.

"I've never forgotten," the noblewoman snarled, looking at both Eklan and Laxan.

"What are we doing now?" Leorus asked before the old feudal honour caused a problem.

"We've come back from a mission on Holy Terra. The Great Enemy had sent some of its most vicious followers back in time. Now the Great Enemy is breaking out of the warp storm beyond and is hoping that it will be 13th time lucky."

"SAC(T) Leorus reporting for duty then, sirs."

"Me too, I think," said the Celestian. "Can I see a priest please, and a shower?"

**What should happen next?**


	7. Chapter 7

"It has begun," Tiglath told the Blitzkrieg soldier and the Sister despite one sleeping in the Avrolanc quarters and the other still purging her body 3 hours later.

"What has?" asked Leorus. "Can't I get any sleep around here?"

"Have you heard of the Volscani Cataphracts?"

"What? Vulcans?"

"It's a Guard regiment that greeted the Cadian Interior Guard General Staff and then killed all of them. They then rampaged around but have been eliminated."

"Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yes."

* * *

"I haven't heard of the Volscani Cataphracts," said Eklan as she now rested under a glowing sunbed for purging contaminants with ultraviolet light.

"They're dead now," said the Emperor. "The lies of Tzeentch got to them. However, they still killed a good chunk of the Cadian leadership."

"Oh my… And?"

"You two, this is disgraceful! How can you not care that your fellow servants of me died in a coward attack?"

"I'm blindfolded and still unclean. That's all I care about."

"You remind me of my colleagues in the Crimean War. They too cared only for themselves."

"And?"

"The only saving grace is that this happened a long time ago. The Battle of the Cadian Gate is beginning. Report to your posts when ready and not just when you feel like it."

* * *

"I met a friend of yours, Airman," said Laxan once Leorus reported to the vaulted chamber.

"I thought we were here to discuss what I saw in Commorragh, sir, since the enemy has unleashed another warp storm."

"Why didn't I interrupt you? Anyway, your friend told me everything and I just want you to confirm it."

"Eklan?"

"No, me," said Tiglath. The hairy giant was visible for all to see. Everyone. The Guardsmen and Navy ratings were following him around the room with their eyes.

"What are you doing here?" the Feudal World airman shouted.

"You confirm you know this individual?" asked Lapizi.

"Yes, sir, he's been talking to me for the past 15 years."

"Has he now? What you've told me is that you've been getting visions from an unverified source ever since you joined the Guard and you never told anyone. Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"We have had many people claim to be the Emperor," said a commissar. "I would know as I have been there."

Lerous couldn't remember seeing that particular officer before, even in that very room. The doors hadn't opened since he came in. "He only claimed that to me when I was in xenos captivity. I thought he was an imaginary friend."

"I believe him," said Eklan as she arrived in the room, again without using the doors. The only other ways in were through the access tunnels and even their hatches would make a noise.

"A Sister of Battle believes the deluded idiot!" cried Lapizi. "Wow, it must be true."

"You were in the past where the Emperor was healthy and walked amongst his people, Air Commodore. Your ship's sensors should have found something."

"We decided not to look for him. In M3.018, the only ones of us interested was you lot, you Order of plant things, and the blood red ones. Why would we want to talk to him anyway?"

"He's the Emperor!"

"Not then he wasn't. He was just a man, and a woman, and some more men and women. He cheated at an election by being both candidates! Anyway, the only reasons your Sisters wanted to find him was to have sex with him and even then that was just a juvenile, immature minority, the same sort who got addicted to pointless TV and debates over undead boyfriends.."

"Well, who wouldn't want to have sex with the Emperor?"

"If the Emperor looks like the creature in this room, I certainly wouldn't!"

"How did we start talking about this?" asked a techpriest as she stepped out from the crowds accompanied by some navy ratings. "Problem: The Imperium needs every unit available to combat a Chaos incursion. Solution: Assemble all available military forces including Space Marines. Actual practice: Gossip about mortal pleasure seekers. We should at least see if this creature before us, whether the Machine-God or not, can help us."

"Can I speak now?" asked Tiglath. "Yes, I am asking for permission to speak in my own Imperium. I can help as I am the greatest amongst all of you. Without a body, I will still destroy the enemy. I just want you to ask."

"Will you help?" asked Laxan.

"Yes. Now I can get started."

* * *

"The White Scars and the Imperial Fists have arrived," Laxan whispered as the hololith came on. Yes, bright yellow and dark white craft were zooming into the system, blasting away at tentacled Chaos warships.

"The Space Wolves and Blood Angels are already here and they're doing spectacularly," Lapizi said with some venom. Unlike the drooling Group Captain, she remained composed.

"Who are the black and white Space Marines?" Tiglath asked.

"That's the Black Templars."

"I have no recollection of any legion by that name."

"They're Imperial Fists. The Ultramarine Primarch split all the chapters up."

"I see. I'm going to the surface."

"The Navy won't take you there."

The being claiming to be the Emperor flashed yellow and vanished. A rumbling voice boomed, "There is no need for that."

* * *

"Another warp storm forming," said the tactical officer on the bright, nondescript bridge of the Enterprise. "Estimate formation time in 5 minutes."

"They said they'd stop him," said the captain from his chair in front of the wooden rail that was the tactical console.

"Who, sir?"

"The Inquisitor Lord."

The depths of space faded from black to green. Green split into yellow. Yellow split into blue. Blue split into red. Red split into purple. Colours not even on the normal colour spectrum snaked across the solar system.

"If not stopped, it'll cut off the solar system," said the tactical officer.

* * *

Tiglath materialised on the tortured service of Cadia. He landed almost on top of the energetic Space Marine beneath him, a Marine familiar. "You!" Tiglath yelled.

"Can I help you?" Erebus asked. "I'm very busy at the moment."

"I am the Emperor returned and you are the one who ruined our diplomacy with the Interex."

"Oh. Keep thinking that."

Suddenly, a giant Sister of Battle, winged and glowing, jumped down next to Tiglath. "Death to traitors," she said.

"Do I know you?" the Emperor asked.

The Sister ignored Tiglath and joined battle with Erebus and his colleagues. Fire and lighting sparked as swords thrust forward. More Word Bearers rushed to the Sorcerer's defence, unleashing bolt after bolt. Flamer and melta streaked across the plain. The Sister still didn't fall.

Tiglath reached out and entered the brain of the Sorcerer, a brain still distracted by the holy warrior. Holy, how sickening. Sneaking through, he burst all of his blood vessels.

Red liquid exploded out of Erebus' body, spraying everyone. With one more effort, Tiglath vanquished the soul within.

The weird Sister finished off the other Space Marines and then looked at Tiglath. "You look like the Emperor."

"I've been told that. Who are you."

"The Living Saint, warrior of the God-Emperor. I'm Celestine."

"I'm Tiglath, the imaginary friend of a Celestian in the Order of the Sacred Grove."

"I do not believe that. You are either our lord returned or a Daemon. Since you killed the most dangerous dark psyker around, I'm leaning to Emperor."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"I must now get back to work, whoever you are, in the Emperor's name."

* * *

The Emperor went over what he saw over and over. He had an awareness of something called the Ecclesiarchy and that it was the organisation Eklan worked for. As he said to the two Avrolanc natives, the Ecclesiarchy was the work of a traitor. However, this Celestine person clearly had power that she believed came from faith in him. Could it be possible that he had some power?

The Ecclesiarchy was a problem for another day, he decided. Right now, saving Cadia was the priority. Whilst he had terminated Erebus and his ritual, there was still plenty to do.


	8. Chapter 8

Cadia had numerous black masses scattered over the planet, a set of structures the Emperor recognised as anti-Warp field generators. Such a system would cripple the Chaos forces nearby… Would it be just as bad for the Imperium though?

"We will cover Tiglath," said the Air Commodore as she discarded her dress and put on her flight robes. "We'll use air power and ground troops. Leorus, are you coming?"

"Yes, sir."

"Celestian Eklan, would you like to…?"

"In the name of Terra!"

"Very well," hissed the creature in the hooded, turquoise robe. Only her sleeve rank stripes showed she was indeed Lapizi.

* * *

Screeching pink blobs with tentacles continued to hop, skip, and jump over the smoking kasr's remains. Flying darts screamed, discs spun, and giant birds with staffs swooped down on anything that moved. By that point, anything moving was a rare event and so the Daemons watched the skies. Good for them as that was where any attack would come. What was the attack going to be though? The Lords of Change were ready for an orbital bombardment. A wave of heat worse than the most intense sun wouldn't bother them. The Screamers would somehow the laugh, the Discs wouldn't react, and the Horrors would giggle. In fact…

_DAKKA!_

Bolter rounds! Ordinary bolts! The Tzeentch Daemons almost paused in amazement. Worse weapons? Oh, well, time to blow the attacker out of the sky. Pink fire whizzed from the Horrors' tentacles. Each flame buzzed against a glowing rune on the transports and fizzled out.

Out of the first transport came the first fellbeast. Another came, then another. Behind them was the Night Dragon of Lapizi. As the leathery lesser creatures swooped forward, their hooded and otherwise silent riders screeched. Even Daemons had to protect their hearing when an Avrolanc fellbeast pilot emitted its cry of pain.

Lascannons strapped underneath each fellbeast lit up. Blue light burst across the Neverborn blobs and sent many back to the Warp. Even a Lord of Change vanished. But more remained to fight back. The first fellbeast roared and incinerated. Who was next?

Someone had to keep the rest of Chaos occupied. Who would do that though? The Emperor's psionics buzzed his mind as a steamroller arrived on the other side of Cadia. Some Space Marines loyal even after death would tie up the archenemy.

"You!" shouted a strangely familiar voice. A voice the Emperor had heard before. A voice of someone the Emperor once knew.

"Ezekiel," said Tiglath. "Time to die."

The chosen champion of the Dark Powers didn't respond with words but with weapons. The night-black covered giant obviously knew better than to chat with the greatest psyker of all time. Lumps of Daemon-possessed metal exploded all around the Emperor's image. The avatar Tiglath flickered but did not vanish.

Abaddon drew his sword. The metal blade lit up and screeched, and in that moment the Emperor knew he was not safe.

* * *

With the contradictory tales of Ollanius Pius still burning through his mind, Leorus touched down on the tortured surface of Cadia. Lapizi and Laxan had no idea he'd left the ship, but he could claim that Eklan kidnapped him. The Sister had told him all about the soldier who stood up to Horus when the Emperor was in trouble. The Guard had a medal named after Pius and the Ecclesiarchy had made him a saint, but the Airman had never known how much debate surrounded him. Regardless, Leorus hoped he wouldn't have to do what Pius did.

The Celestian's auspex revealed that there were at least 6 more Traitor Astartes stalking the ruins. The mortals ducked behind a pillar as one of these behemoths passed, not even daring to think out loud. The moment they crept out…

_DAKKA! DAKKA!_

Both Eklan and Leorus exploded. The Terminator shook his head as he thought about the easy kill. It was almost shameful.

* * *

The Emperor sensed and dodged another swipe of the Daemon sword. Was that blade just possessed by a Neverborn or was it all a Neverborn? Abaddon hadn't said one word since the battle started and nor had the Emperor. Despite the thrill of combat, the Emperor had picked up more presences. The Eldar were nearby, as was a group of dead things trapped in robot bodies.

The one-armed champion stepped back. Why? Tiglath picked up the fire of Human minds immediately. Someone called Creed had arrived.

The Emperor also realised that Eklan and Leorus' fires were extinguished. What could…?

The nearly opaque avatar of the Emperor became opaque and solid. The Emperor was incarnate once more.

With a skip and a jump, he crashed into Abaddon. The greatest psyker ever was coming back online. There was no pity this time around, no concern for a son's regret of , unleashed once more, tore Abaddon to pieces, snapped the Daemon sword, destroyed the Daemon inside forever, and then killed the other Terminators hanging around.

The Emperor had won today. The 13th Black Crusade had dispersed. Sure, someone called Creed had been eviscerated by 5 lascannon blasts, but so what?

What could the Emperor do now? A voice from this Creed person's corpse droned, "Pylons activated. Pylons activated."

* * *

Tiglath felt himself start to shiver. One of the tall, black structures wasn't a ruin of the kasr after all but a dead, lifeless lump. It was sucking the psychic potential away from the planet. It may close the Eye of Terror, but turning the Pylons to full could be disastrous for navigation. Worse, they could be disastrous for the Emperor. Even worse, would it be a good idea to allow the plan of other ancient gods, the C'Tan, to work?

The Emperor knew where he was with Chaos. He didn't know with the C'Tan.

However, maybe there was another way. Chaos may still survive after this day, but the Emperor could take the pressure off humanity another way. The archenemy may stay, but another group of troublemakers would go.

The greatest psyker ever gripped the surface of the most powerful anti-psyker beacon ever. He did not die. If his gamble worked, he would force the pylons to transmit a warp disruption signal across the galaxy. A certain species who generated psychic fields would suffer.

The Emperor reflected that he'd soon find out if he was right. If he was right, the disruption signal had entered the WAAAGH! psychic field generated by every Ork. If he was right, every Greenskin, whether Ork, Gretchin, Squig, or Snotling, would die at that point. The Ork spores would become inert.

If he was right, the Orks were now extinct. If he was wrong, he may have doomed the galaxy. There certainly had been some effect, as though a huge interference in the Warp had vanished.

On the plus side, the warp hadn't spread throughout the galaxy. It would have likely cut the Imperium in half.

Regardless, the Emperor was back. He had a lot to do. How would he do it?

How would he start?

**This is the end of this project between R-Alex-J and dandiestcar6. Whether this ending is good or bad, I'm just glad it's over and done with. I can move on. Finally.**

**If you're reading this, dandiestcar6, then believe me when I say this:**

**You could have written a better ending than this. If you'd stayed on, you could have written something great, made a great ending, and have it all remain in your namespace.**


End file.
